jon c. 

Report: Tampa Cops Targeting Black Cyclists

B. Carfree

I've lived where all cyclists were targeted for citations. The solution is pretty simple: obey the vehicle code and you don't get a citation.

Also, the fact that blacks are over-represented in the pool of citations relative to their presence in the general population is less than meaningless. What fraction of bike miles are being done by blacks? If it's 75%, then one would expect them to be on the receiving end of most of the citations.

Chris516

Hmmm.....A citation is the one thing I have never been given. Although, There was one time I was pulled over by a city police officer who thought I was drunk. I went through the usual tests of finger-to-nose, walking in a straight line, alphabet forward-backward. No citation resulted.

At the same time, the Tampa Police Department is profiling. I hope a class-action lawsuit is thrown at them.

CliffordK

I find that kind of "stop and frisk" as offensive.
Riding on the handlebars is a crime?

Warnings for no lights might make sense. Tickets for lights? But use the traffic stops to fix the problem behavior, not something else.

I agree, stats could be skewed by both more bicycles, and perhaps more offences, but they sound suspicious.

Juan Foote

I wonder with the ticketing being so lopsided, was it only because the black folks riding were the ones weaving lanes, salmoning, no lights, sidewalk, etc?

I would expect that the ticketing imbalance could easily be explained in social behavior regarding following the letter of the law. Hard to be "gangsta" and follow rules, ya know....

rydabent

But the fact is that most of them were engaged in criminal activity. Dont do the crime, and you wont be stopped, no matter what color you are.

lostarchitect 

Wrong. Only 20% of them were arrested, and almost all of those for very minor crimes.

rydabent

lost

A crime is a crime. If you engage in crime expect to be arrested. Dont whine is you are!!!!!!

CliffordK

Yes... for example the infamous crime of Driving While Black.

Or in this case, Riding While Black.

walrus1

Given the south's stellar record of police minority interactions I'm hardly surprised.

As for the laughable assertion that "Bikes, Tampa Police Chief Jane Cantor said in a statement, have 'become the most common mode of transportation for criminals.'" I'm pretty sure the car is still used in way more crimes.

It almost sounds like this is Tampa's version of NYC's stop and frisk.

FBinNY 

IMO- this is a case of the "Broken Windows" theory of policing run amok. I buy in to the theory to a degree, but this is too far. I suspect this is an "any pretext" approach in the hope of finding more serious "crime" than bicycle traffic infractions. I'm not a fan of that and strongly believe it leads to abuse.

If the city has data showing a serious issue with bicycle safety and/or injuries, then a bicycle law enforcement crackdown might be warranted. But if this is just using a pretext to make stops, it'll be counter productive because it will widen the gulf between the police and policed in Tampa. I wouldn't be surprised if it results in judicial review of the practices and an order to cease.

I-Like-To-Bike

Perhaps the locals crime busters need an MHL to enforce against unworthy cycling suspects.

lostarchitect 

Must be nice to be white in middle america.

I-Like-To-Bike

Got any more P&R ranting to add; anybody, anybody?

Dannihilator

No politics please.

lostarchitect 

Impossible to discuss this without politics. You should probably move or close.

jon c. 

Couldn't agree more. The application of that theory has IMO gone far afield of what the theory initially postulated. It was termed 'broken windows' because the idea was that in cracking down on things like vandalism and code violations, which degrade a neighborhood, you would improve the quality of life for the citizens. Through such quality of life improvements, a greater sense of pride in community would be established and strengthened social mores would encourage a reduction in crime.

It's a perversion of the theory to suggest that rigorous enforcement of all minor statutes achieves the desired end.

It could reasonably be argued that dangerous riding falls with the original enforcement ideals of the theory, but the subsequent stop and frisk actions improve no one's quality of life and serve only to further the deterioration of the community. This is clearly not about improving bicycling safety.

(As you can tell, the modern usage of the term 'broken windows policing' really bugs me as I think in practice it ends up being 180 degrees from the original intent of the theory.)

dpeters11

If I got a ticket for speeding, I admit I'd probably frame it. Other violations, nothing to be proud of.

LesterOfPuppets

Unless you ride on Davis Islands. Only one ticket written there last year.

Bad enough when they use the lights as a pretext but the fact that they're stopping people AND writing tix is pretty much the cops taxing the poor and making them poorer.

jeichelberg87

The problem? Police no longer walking the beat. Move the police to a car behind mirrored sunglasses and tinted windows. Roll in only when you need to bust somebody upside the head. Never mind the social interaction expected of most civilized beings.

Nothing to see here...only the jack booted thuggery practiced by both gangstas and police. TRIBALISM AND WARFARE..SIEG HEIL!!!